Carton dispenser



Sept. 30, 1958 P. J. GOODMAN 2,854,169

CARTON DISPENSER Filed Dec. 19, 1955 ATTORNEY 5 CARTON DISPENSER Peter J. Goodman, Reedsburg, Wis.

Application December 19, 1955, Serial No. 553,755

3 Claims. or. 221-104 The present invention relates to carton dispensers and, more particularly, to dispensers of the type for storing and dispensing empty cartons to loading stations.

The primary object of the invention is to store and individually dispense a group of cartons to a loading point where the cartons are loaded, closed and packed in a shipping box.

Another object of the invention is to provide a carton dispensing mechanism having a storage hopper positioned adjacent the dispensing mechanism.

A further object of the invention is to provide a dispensing mechanism of the class described above which is so constructed that relatively fragile cartons may be dispensed from a stored position without damage thereto.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a carton dispensing mechanism of the type described above which is inexpensive to manufacture, simple to maintain, and non-complex in operation.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent in the following specifications when considered in the light of the attached drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a front elevation of the invention, partly broken away;

Figure 2 is a vertical cross section taken along the line 22 of Figure 1, looking in the direction of the arrows; and,

Figure 3 is a fragmentary side elevation illustrating the guide tube.

Referring now to the drawing in detail wherein like reference numerals indicate like parts throughout the several figures, the reference numeral indicates generally the carton dispenser comprising the instant invention which consists of a pair of side walls 11 and 12 having a bottom wall 13 extending therebetween. The forward edge 14 and the rear edge 15 of the wall 11 extend parallel to each other and the top edge 16 thereof extends perpendicularly to the forward edge 14 and the rear edge 15. The bottom edge 16 of the wall 11 slopes from the front edge 14 to the rear edge 15 so that the rear edge 15 is somewhat shorter than the forward edge 14. The bottom wall 13 extends parallel to the bottom edge 16 of the wall 11. The side wall 12 is constructed identically to the side wall 11 and is positioned in parallel spaced apart position thereto. A rear wall 17 extends upwardly from the bottom wall 13 and joins the rear edges of the walls 11 and 12. A cross member 18 extends between the upper front edges of the walls 11 and 12 to provide an upper front corner for the dispenser 10. A platform 19 is positioned within the dispenser 10 in spaced apart relation to the bottom wall 13. The platform 19 extends perpendicularly right angularly to the forward edge 14 and the rear edge 15 of the wall 11 and is supported on a pair of beveled supports 20 and 21. The platform 19 has its forward edge spaced rearwardly from the forward edge 14. A curved metallic chute 22 is secured along the forward edge of the platform 19 and extends downwardly and outwardly to serve as a delivery chute for the dispensed cartons. A pair of stops 23 are United States Patent 9 positioned in spaced apart relation on the front of the bottom wall 13 and are provided with upstanding flanges 24 to engage the cartons being dispensed from the dispenser 10 and support them until they are removed by hand.

A retainer strip 25 is secured to the front edge 14 of the wall 11 by means of hinges 26. A turn button 27 is pivotally secured to the front of the cross member 18 and is adapted to overlie the upper edge of the retainer strip 25 to maintain the retainer strip in closed position. A second retainer strip 28 is secured by means of hinges 29 to the side wall 12 and a turn button 30 pivotally secured to the cross member 18 is adapted to extend over the upper edge portion of the retainer strip 28 to maintain it in closed position as illustrated in Figure l. A dispensing mechanism support plate 31 is secured to the side walls 11 and 12 by means of securing elements 32 and 33 with the central portion of the support plate 31 extending across the front of the dispenser 10.

A U-shaped bracket 34 is secured to the support plate by means of rivets 35 or the like and a pulley 36 is journaled in the bracket 34 for rotation therein. A handle 37 is secured to the pulley 36 to permit it to be turned by hand. A rectangular follower 38 is positioned internally of the dispenser 10 and has its lower edge resting on the platform 19. The upper portion of the follower 3% is supported by means of a link 39 pivoted to the rear wall at 40 and to the follower at 41. A pair of guides 42 extend downwardly from opposite end edges of the follower 38 engaging over opposite side edges of the platform 19 to guide the follower as it is moved forwardly over the platform 19. A pair of tubular cable guides 43 and 44 are secured to the sides 11 and 12 of the dispenser 10 by means of brackets 45 and 46 respectively. The forward end 47 of the guide 43 is aligned with an upper tangent of the pulley 36. The forward end 48 of the guide 44 is aligned with a lower tangent of the pulley 36. The rear end 49 of the guide 43 projects through the side wall 11 and the rear end 50 of the guide 44 projects through the side wall 12. A cable 51 is secured by a knot 52 through one side of the pulley 36 and extends through the guide tube 43 rearwardly to the lower edge of the follower 38. A cable 53 is secured to one side edge of the pulley 36 by means of a knot 54 and likewise extends through guide tube 44 to the other side of the lower edge of the follower 38.

In the use and operation of the invention egg cartons such as are illustrated at 55 are positioned on the platform 19 and against the follower 38 with the forward row of the cartons 55 extending forwardly to engage the flanges 24 of the stops 23. As each row is dispensed the handle 37 and pulley 36 are rotated to wind the cables 51 and 53 thereon, thus pulling forwardly on the bottom edge of the follower 38 which moves forwardly to a final position as illustrated in dotted lines in Figure 2. The top edge of the follower 38 moves downwardly and forwardly on the link 39 likewise to the position as illustrated in Figure 2. When all cartons 55 in the dispenser 14} have been dispensed the follower 38 is moved rearwardly manually to its position as illustrated in Figure 2. The retainer strips 25 and 28 are opened and additional cartons 55 are stacked on the platform 19 to permit the cycle to be continued.

It should be noted that the follower 38 moves forwardly both along its upper edge and along its lower edge, although it moves a greater distance at the bottom than it does at the top.

Having thus described the preferred embodiment of the invention it should be understood that numerous structural adaptations and modifications may be resorted to without departing from the scope of the appended claims.

. g p v v 3 What is claimed is; g l. A carton dispenser comprising a generally rectangular hopper including spaced parallel side walls, a rear wall extending therebetween and 'a bottom wall secured to dg o d. low r. nd hav ng h ir low; n s

ea l aga n Of c b e co ne ed a l ne n v to h w r n f aid. ollower, a: pul ey e ur d to p,-

pqsitends of sa d abl 's means s ppor g a P y or otat on hereby id. ab es n winding thereon.

mQ esI e'mw r i dof a fo ower forwardly on said platform, a dispensing chutesecured tothe forward edge f aid? p atio ms nd depe ding th r f om to g d a on a: i gen'sedzp 'in 1; and p mo n a d tt mv l .in; posi ion o. a e an ppo aid cano s. t. he f t d dg i of; said chut 2. A device as claimed in claim 1 wherein'tubular guide members are secured to said hopper and said cablesextend therethrough.

3. A device as claimed in claim 1 wherein said platform is arranged with its side edges spaced from said side Walls, and said follower panel is provided with means on the lower edge thereof engaging the side edges of said platform to guide the lower edge of said follower during movement over said platform. a

References fited iiiihe file of'this patent UNITED: STATES PATENTS 472,492 Begg, Ap1:i 5-, 1892 2,647,029 Deland July 28,- 1953 2,684,179 Sachs July 20, 1954 2,699,980 Uhas et 'al.. Jan. 18, 1955 2,732,952 Skelton Ian. 31, 1956 2,815,874 Kowal Dec. 10, 1957 

